HASA Executive Director Erin Stauder Named to Baltimore Business Journal’s Top Ten Leaders in Diversity List

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Baltimore nonprofit expands the definition of diversity, advocates for inclusion in communication

I’m grateful to the Baltimore Business Journal for this honor and I hope it represents a small step forward in our understanding of diversity and inclusion. The marginalization of individuals with sensory and communication differences is a social justice issue.

BALTIMORE (PRWEB)April 09, 2019

HASA, a Baltimore nonprofit providing hearing health, education, language access, inclusion, and speech and language services, is proud to announce that executive director Erin Stauder has been selected as one of the Baltimore Business Journal’s 2019 Top Ten Leaders in Diversity.

Leaders in Diversity recognizes executives, business owners, and nonprofit leaders in Greater Baltimore who are leading diversity and inclusion efforts in the workplace. Winners are selected from a group of nominees put forward by readers, community members, and the Baltimore Business Journal’s editorial staff.

Stauder’s recognition reflects an effort to continue expanding the definition of diversity. Beyond the traditional parameters of gender, race, age, and sexual orientation, other meaningful aspects of inclusion are neurodiversity, communication modality, and hearing status. Since joining HASA as executive director in 2016, Stauder has shown a deep commitment to fostering more inclusive workspaces and customer experiences.

In 2018, Stauder launched “Hearing Hospitality,” a partnership with local restaurants to educate owners, managers, and servers on the needs of hard-of-hearing individuals and how they can create a more inclusive dining experience.

Most recently, she led her team to develop a workshop that educates local business owners, HR directors, and other staff on adapting inclusive hiring practices and fostering an inclusive workplace. Stauder has also served as an advocate for the expansion of Medicaid to include hearing aids.

“I’m grateful to the Baltimore Business Journal for this honor and I hope it represents a small step forward in our understanding of diversity and inclusion,” said Stauder. “The marginalization of individuals with sensory and communication differences is a social justice issue. At HASA, we believe there’s no true communication norm. We’re fighting for the day when individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing can truly be part of the conversation and when children with autism are no longer excluded from team sports and social situations.”

The 2019 Leaders in Diversity class will be honored at a celebratory breakfast June 6 at the Lord Baltimore Hotel.

About HASA
One of Baltimore’s oldest nonprofit organizations, HASA’s mission is to connect people to their worlds to build a society where everyone can understand and be understood. Community-based programming focuses on the core areas of education, hearing health, inclusion, language access, and speech-language and helps more than 4,000 children and adults to communicate more effectively each year. Programs include hearing health services and outreach, speech-language evaluation and therapy, special education, language and literacy programs, sign language interpreting, and sign language classes. For more information, please visit http://hasa.org or call (410) 318-6780.